Imperial City of Nuremberg  

In early modern times, Nuremberg experienced a major rise in its fortunes. Crafts and trade flourished in the 15th and 16th centuries, science and art blossomed. Families which had acquired their riches by trade, the "Patricians", dominated the city council of Nuremberg, which in 1424 had been entrusted by Emperor Sigismund with the empire's crown jewels "for ever".

Just below the Imperia Castle, artistic genius, Albrecht Dürer, the city's most famous son, had his workshop and residence. Dürer's works were highly acclaimed, just as the works by wood carver Veit Stoß or by sculptor Adam Kraft.

The city proved innovative in many aspects: the first paper north of the Alps was manufactured in Nuremberg; and the clarinet was invented here. The earliest remaining representation of the world as a globe dates back to Martin Behaim, and Peter Henlein invented the pocket watch – both men were Nuremberg citizens. Astronomical tools, navigation tools, and maps from the Free City of the Empire were leading products on the world market. The astronomer and mathematician Regiomontanus praised Nuremberg's location at the centre of Europe ("quasi centrum europae").

Nuremberg's name is closely linked to German Humanism, mainly through the person of Willibald Pirckheimer. In 1525, the city's open mind for new thinking led to Nuremberg introducing the Reformation. In 1575, Nuremberg City Council established the "publica et trivialis schola" in nearby Altdorf, which in 1623 became the university of the Imperial City of Nuremberg.

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